Left-arm spinner Axar Patel and top-order batsman Karun Nair put up impressive performances as India 'A' comfortably beat Afghanistan 'A' by seven wickets to register their first-win in the tri-nation 'A' tournament in Pretoria.
This was after Manish Pandey's men lost a low-scoring encounter against South Africa 'A' in the lung opener.
Electing to field, India 'A' bundled out the minnows for 149 in 40.5 overs with Axar Patel picking up three for 33 in six overs.
Tamil Nadu all-rounder Vijay Shankar, who claimed three for 24 in seven overs complemented the India discard well. Leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal was the only bowler to complete his full quota of overs grabbing two for 42 in the process. Sharafuddin Ashraf with 39 was the top scorer for Afghanistan 'A'.
In reply, India 'A' cruised to the target in 150 for 3 in 30.4 overs.
Opening the innings, Nair scored a patient 57 off 83 balls while skipper Pandey chipped in with unbeaten 41 off 52 balls. The duo added 67 runs for the third wicket Shreyas Iyer (20) and Sanju Samson (10) were dismissed cheaply.
Young Rishabh Pant scored a quickfire unbeaten 17 off 10 deliveries with three boundaries to finish the match off in style.
Brief Scores:
Afghanistan 'A' 149 in 40.4 overs (Sharafuddin Ashraf 39, Vijay Shankar 3/24, Axar Patel 3/33, Yuzvendra Chahal 2/42).
India 'A' 150/3 in 30.4 overs (Karun Nair 57, Manish Pandey 41 no, Rishabh Pant 17 no).
Result: India 'A' won by 7 wickets.
Image: Axar Patel celebrates a wicket.
Photograph: BCCI
